This week’s episode is a continuation of our discussion on Centering Blackness in Education. We are joined again by Dr. Lamar L. Johnson of Michigan State University to discuss Black Language, also known as African American Vernacular English (AAVE) or Ebonics. In 1996, the Oakland, California School District allowed Black English to be used in classrooms as a bridge for students to leverage their AAVE to learn Standard English. Along with Dr. Johnson, we explore how Black English is an important element of Black education and how it can be used to expand Black students’ educational experiences.

Lamar  L. Johnson is an Associate Professor of Language and Literacy for Linguistic and Racial Diversity in the Department of English at Michigan State University. He is interested in the complex intersections of race, language, literacy, and education and how English language arts (ELA) classrooms can become racial justice sites.

Sources

Baldwin, J. (1979), If Black Language Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is? New York Times, 29 July, 1979. 

Grieve, J., Nini, A. & Guo, D. (2018). Mapping Lexical Innovation on American Social Media. Journal of English Linguistics, 46(4), 293 - 319.

Smitherman, G. (1998). Ebonics, King, and Oakland: Some folk don't believe fat meat is greasy. Journal of English Linguistics, 26(2), 97-107.

Woodson, C. G. (1933). The Mis-Education of the Negro.

In this week’s episode, we are joined by Dr. Lamar L. Johnson of Michigan State University to discuss Blackness - what it is and what it isn’t - in the classroom. How Blackness is centered in English education and the field of English language literature. Dr. Johnson redefines Blackness to show its complexities and how that must be captured in our curricula. We discuss Black Lives Matter in School curriculum, the impact of Covid-19 on Black learners, and much more.

Lamar  L. Johnson is an Associate Professor of Language and Literacy for Linguistic and Racial Diversity in the Department of English at Michigan State University. He is interested in the complex intersections of race, language, literacy, and education and how English language arts (ELA) classrooms can become racial justice sites.

Resources

Baker-Bell, A., Butler, T., & Johnson, L. L.  (in press 2017). The pain and the wounds: A call for Critical Race English Education in the wake of racial violence.  English Education.

Dumas, M. J., & Ross, K. M. (2016). “Be real black for me” imagining BlackCrit in education. Urban Education, 51(4), 415-442.

Glass, K. “Black families were hit hard by the pandemic. The effects of children may be lasting” New York Times. 29 June 2020.

Johnson, L. L., Jackson, J., Stovall, D. & Baszile, D. T.  (in press 2017).  “Loving Blackness to Death”:(Re)Imagining ELA classrooms in a time of racial chaos.  English Journal.

Johnson, L. L. & Bryan, N.  (2016).  Using our voices, losing our bodies: Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, and the spirit murders of Black male professors in the academy.  Race Ethnicity and Education, 20(2), 163-177.

Johnson, L. L.  (2016).  Using critical race theory to explore race-based conversations through a critical family book club. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 65, 300-315.

Love, B. L. (2016) Anti-Black state violence, classroom edition: The spirit murdering of Black Children. Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy, 13(1), 22 - 25.

Love, B.L. (2019). We want to do more than survive: Abolitionist teaching and the pursuit of educational freedom. Beacon Press.

Parolin, Z., & Wimer, C. (2020). Forecasting Estimates of Poverty during the Covid-19 Crisis. Retrieved from New York, NY: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5743308460b5e922a25a6dc7/t/5e9786f17c4b4e20ca02d16b/1586988788821/Forecasting-Poverty-Estimates-COVID19-CPSP-2020.pdf

Roberts, D. E. (1999). Killing the black body: Race, reproduction, and the meaning of liberty. Vintage.

In this week’s episode, we are joined by Dr. Lamar L. Johnson of Michigan State University to discuss Blackness - what it is and what it isn’t - in the classroom. How Blackness is centered in English education and the field of English language literature. Dr. Johnson redefines Blackness to show its complexities and how that must be captured in our curricula. We discuss Black Lives Matter in School curriculum, the impact of Covid-19 on Black learners, and much more.

Lamar  L. Johnson is an Associate Professor of Language and Literacy for Linguistic and Racial Diversity in the Department of English at Michigan State University. He is interested in the complex intersections of race, language, literacy, and education and how English language arts (ELA) classrooms can become racial justice sites.

Resources

Baker-Bell, A., Butler, T., & Johnson, L. L.  (in press 2017). The pain and the wounds: A call for Critical Race English Education in the wake of racial violence.  English Education.

Dumas, M. J., & Ross, K. M. (2016). “Be real black for me” imagining BlackCrit in education. Urban Education, 51(4), 415-442.

Glass, K. “Black families were hit hard by the pandemic. The effects of children may be lasting” New York Times. 29 June 2020. 

Johnson, L. L., Jackson, J., Stovall, D. & Baszile, D. T.  (in press 2017).  “Loving Blackness to Death”:(Re)Imagining ELA classrooms in a time of racial chaos.  English Journal.

Johnson, L. L. & Bryan, N.  (2016).  Using our voices, losing our bodies: Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, and the spirit murders of Black male professors in the academy.  Race Ethnicity and Education, 20(2), 163-177. 

Johnson, L. L.  (2016).  Using critical race theory to explore race-based conversations through a critical family book club. Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice, 65, 300-315.   

Love, B. L. (2016) Anti-Black state violence, classroom edition: The spirit murdering of Black Children. Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy, 13(1), 22 - 25.

Love, B.L. (2019). We want to do more than survive: Abolitionist teaching and the pursuit of educational freedom. Beacon Press. 

Parolin, Z., & Wimer, C. (2020). Forecasting Estimates of Poverty during the Covid-19 Crisis. Retrieved from New York, NY: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5743308460b5e922a25a6dc7/t/5e9786f17c4b4e20ca02d16b/1586988788821/Forecasting-Poverty-Estimates-COVID19-CPSP-2020.pdf

Roberts, D. E. (1999). Killing the black body: Race, reproduction, and the meaning of liberty. Vintage. 

Race Through Education, Episode 3: Latinx Beyond Immigration

In this episode, we focus on Latinidad and identity formation among Latinx populations in the United States. Acknowledging that there is diversity within the Latinx community, we discuss how students navigate their Latino identity and how it impacts their learning experiences. Fawziah and Madison unpack how Madison grew up in Spanish Harlem as a half Black and half Puerto Rican kid that didn’t speak Spanish and his development.

Dr. Eddie Fergus (Temple University) helps us better understand Latinidad from an academic perspective. Through his research, Dr. Fergus explores the effects of educational policy and practice as it intersects the lives of populations living in vulnerable conditions. More specifically, his policy work extrapolates the relationship between discipline codes of conduct, gifted program practice, and academic referral processes and the educational outcomes of low-income and racial/ethnic minority student populations. This work also outlines policy and practice changes in order for schools to develop as protective environments for vulnerable populations.

Resources

Fergus, E. (2009). Understanding Latino students’ schooling experiences: The relevance of skin color among Mexican and Puerto Rican high school students. Teachers College Record, 111(2), 339-375.

Fergus, E., Noguera, P., & Martin, M. (2014). Schooling for resilience: Improving the life trajectory of Black and Latino boys. Harvard Education Press.

Noguera, P., Hurtado, A., & Fergus, E. (Eds.). (2013). Invisible no more: Understanding the disenfranchisement of Latino men and boys. Routledge.

Ogbu, J. U. (1981). Origins of human competence: A cultural-ecological perspective. Child development, 413-429.

Ogbu, J. U., & Simons, H. D. (1998). Voluntary and involuntary minorities: A cultural‐ecological theory of school performance with some implications for education. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 29(2), 155-188.

In this bonus mini-episode from our interview with Dr. L'Heureux Lewis-McCoy, we discuss The Doll Test. The Doll Test was designed by Dr. Mamie Clark, a Black woman, and used by her husband, Dr. Kenneth Clark, in the Supreme Court Case of Brown v. Board of Education (1954). The Doll Test was the first time a social science study was used in a Supreme Court case. Several researchers later replicated the Test. But Dr. Lewis-McCoy pushes back, why are we using White lenses to understand how Black children see themselves? Should we instead focus on how we understand Black identity formation and self-worth from a non-deficit approach?

We all know the famous Brown V. Board case. We all know that it was suppose to desegregate schools legally. Everyone talks about the South but not enough is discussed what happened in the North. In this episode of Race Through Education, we speak to R. L’Heureux Lewis-McCoy, an Associate Professor of Sociology of Education at New York University, to discuss what happened in the North and why we should pay more attention to our own Northern backyards.

Race Through Education welcomes Fawziah and Madison to the podcasting world. Both New York University doctorate candidates decided during COVID that they should bring their interest and passion for education into a podcast. After months of ironing out the details, we bring you a podcast that talks about race and education in America.